Chapter 3 of 'Death Game'

Chapter 3: The Beginning of the Death Game (Part 2)\Three hundred and thirty-six players had already... If everything he said was true, then the brains of these players had all been burned—meaning they were dead...\“There is no need for everyone to worry about your bodies in the real world. Most of the incidents involving victims whose VrCDs were forcibly removed are being continuously reported in that world through television, radio, and online media. Therefore, the risk of your VrCD being forcibly removed should be greatly reduced. From now on, your bodies will be moved to hospitals or other facilities while wearing the VrCD during the downtime buffer, and carefully monitored. You only need to focus your mind… on completing the game.”\This guy—what a joke! Under these circumstances, he still expects us to focus on completing the game.\“This can no longer be called a game!”\Seemingly hearing Asah's angry shout, the GM glanced at the source of the voice, then continued speaking in the same calm tone: “There is one more point everyone should pay special attention to. For you all, this online virtual reality game is no longer a game but another reality. In the future, all resurrection mechanics in the game will be removed, so the moment a player's HP reaches zero, your character will disappear forever, and at the same time…”\He paused slightly again, but what he was about to say next was entirely predictable.\“At the same time, your brain will be damaged by the VrCD!”\HitPoint. A green bar appearing in the upper-left corner of the players' view, a value determining the player's life and death—when it drops to zero, you truly die.\This is indeed a game. A game of life and death. In other words, a death game!\Death, during the seven-month closed and beta testing periods of Asah, had already become familiar; every death was accompanied by strange, unpleasant sounds and system messages, returning the player to the 'Origin of the Hero' to revive and then fight again. RPGs are such games, where one dies repeatedly to gain experience, money, and items to continuously strengthen themselves. But now he says there is no resurrection; once a character dies, they truly lose their life! How can anyone be expected to calmly focus on completing the game under such circumstances?"It's as if he had mind-reading abilities and could see through people's hearts," he continued. "And the way to return to your original world is exactly what I mentioned from the beginning: defeat the final BOSS of this game. At that point, I guarantee that all surviving players in the game can safely return to their original world."

Got it! Now I finally understand! That phrase ‘defeat the BOSS' means they want us to clear this game! The game EegyWeapon World consists of 99 lands, each with its strongest guardian BOSS. Defeat it to move on to the next land. Until reaching the largest land in the game, the 99th land, defeat the final BOSS there, and the game will be completed.

Considering there are nearly fifteen thousand online players right now, how long would it actually take to clear the game with these numbers? Not to mention the closed beta, during the four-month internal testing period with the highest number of 2,000 players, they only reached the eighth land, Beta Bam. The number of deaths for each player is visible, and with the current rule that you lose a life upon death, how long would it take to fully complete the game?

The scene was completely enveloped in silence, which was then utterly broken by gradually growing noise. "Stop monologuing." "You guys went way too far this time." "How much time are you planning to waste for me?" ...Most players still believed this was just an ‘extra performance' prepared by the operators for the game's launch, not a ‘real crisis' the players should face. What he said was really hard to believe and felt completely unreal.

A voice devoid of any emotion continued to come from above: 'Then... finally, let's show everyone the evidence that, for you, this place is already your “real world.”' He raised his index and middle fingers and waved them downward. That was the way to open the command menu, and then he seemed to be gesturing at something. The menu can only be seen by other players after switching to visible mode, which is why it looked like he was just gesturing.

Mo Wenjun slowly lowered his hand and continued: 'I've prepared a gift for everyone, please check it.'

'A gift?' Shallow instinctively opened the game menu, and all the players did the same.Switched to the item menu option, and indeed there was a new item.\The item was not some exquisite gift box for the public beta celebration. Its name was 'True Hand Mirror,' an item Asan had never seen before.\'What is this?' Asan muttered to himself while selecting the 'Materialize Item' option. As the system shone and the sound effect played, a small oval mirror instantly appeared in midair.\Asan caught the little mirror, but nothing strange happened to it. Looking into the mirror, he clearly saw the game's character he had meticulously created, with a steadfast and brave adventurer's face. The mirror was just like a real-world mirror and nothing special.\Just as Asan was waiting for the director to explain the situation, a blue-white light emanated from the ground, engulfing all the players in the square, and everything before Asan turned bright white. After a few seconds, the light faded away.\Asan looked around; the scenery hadn't changed at all—it was still the same as before, but something felt off. 'Isn't this… teleportation?!'\'Asan, are you okay?' came the voice of Xia from behind.\Asan turned around and replied, 'Yeah, seems like nothing happened.' But now, standing before him was not the original Xia.\Before him was a girl with smooth, soft, glossy black straight hair like silk, clear and beautiful large eyes like lake water, a small straight nose, a thin pink mouth, all set in an egg-shaped face that perfectly matched her features. Her petite and delicate figure was accentuated by her leather outfit, appearing to be around 15 years old. Her gear and voice unmistakably told Asan that she was Xia.\'You are… Xia…? What's going on?'\'I don't know either! When I realized it, it was already like this. You must have also reverted to your real-world appearance.'\Hearing Xia say this, Asan held the mirror up to look. This time, the face reflected in the mirror was no longer the brave and steadfast adventurer of the game, but his own real-life face, one he knew all too well: ordinary, somewhat unkempt black hair, an ordinary facial structure, unremarkable features, not particularly handsome although moderately decent-looking.\He looked around again and then realized that those people from not long ago, who had the looks of handsome men and beautiful women straight out of a fantasy adventure game, had all 'disappeared.' The players he saw in the square had undergone many changes in height, appearance, and body shape, and the male-to-female ratio had changed drastically compared to before.\The people in the square were also amazed to find that their appearances and physiques had been restored to their original forms, and a growing clamor followed immediately.\'Qian, what exactly is going on?'\'...I once read in a book that this is scanning! The VrCD basically envelops our heads, so it's possible to use this technology to convert our faces.'\'But that can only scan the face. What about height and body shape?'\'I think it must be the measurement we did the first time we wore the VrCD. It is a setting program for sensory measurement adjustment, aimed at accurately reproducing local sensations while we play the game. It records baseline values for movements like "how far your hand can reach to touch your own body parts." Basically, it archives real body data. So it's indeed possible to convert all players' body shapes into real-world body shapes.'\'But... why do this?'\Qian said nothing, just slowly raised his head, waiting to see what kind of speech this director would deliver next. The commotion in the square gradually subsided.\When the square was almost silent, an echo that made people wait came from above: "I believe everyone now understands. For you, this game is the real world. I hope you can all understand this. Well, that's the end of the game explanation. Players, good luck." After saying this, his body glowed blue and white, and then burst apart like an explosion, turning into countless tiny glowing particles and disappearing. He left behind a final sentence that could utterly crush all players' minds, without even explaining his intention, and vanished from the players' view.\Frozen gazes stared at where the GM had disappeared, and then...\screams, shouting, wailing, roaring, cursing, quarrels, panic, collapse... The square instantly erupted in an explosive roar, finally giving the reaction that Mo Wenjun had been hoping for.If everything he said is true, then I will not be able to return to the real world right now, nor will I be able to communicate or meet with my family and friends. Playing through my thoughts, I glanced sideways at the health bar in the top left corner. If that value drops to zero, I might truly die and face real death punishment. I made an effort to organize my thoughts to calm myself down and slowly said: 'Xia, I need to talk to you, come over for a moment.' Grabbing Xia's slender wrist, I pushed through the frenzied crowd and quickly walked toward the edge of the light field.

I chose a less conspicuous place and stopped. Looking at this distracted girl, I started speaking with the most serious expression and tone: 'Xia, listen carefully! I must leave this town immediately and reach the next village, and you need to come with me.' Xia was still in a daze, staring empty-eyed at me.

'If everything he said is true, then to survive in this world, we must continuously strengthen ourselves. Online role-playing games are essentially resource battles between players. The more limited money, items, and experience provided by the system you acquire, the stronger you become. Players with similar intentions as ours will likely continue leveling up in this nearby area, and soon resources will be exhausted. Ultimately, everyone will only be endlessly searching for monster spawn points provided by the system. Therefore, the best choice is to make the next village our base while we still can. I know all the shortcuts and dangerous spots on the way to the next village, and I can guarantee your safety with your current level.'

Xia listened to me without moving, stunned for a few seconds, then her eyes began to regain vitality. She lifted her head toward me and said: 'Thank you… Xiao… but I'm sorry, I can't just follow you. My friends probably logged into the game like me, and they should still be in the square… Even though they usually seem unreliable, I can't just leave them behind…'

I was completely shaken by the girl before me. The fragile appearance she had just shown was now replaced by the strength in her heart.

'But, I'm afraid…'

'I know. It's alright, don't worry. We can survive using our own strength too.'

Xia's understanding made my internal struggle even more intense.This young girl knew that Qian found it very difficult to bear that enormous responsibility—the possibility of being unable to protect his companions and letting them sacrifice their lives. Clenching his fists, Qian barely managed to squeeze out a sentence: 'Really… is it okay? I still have so much I haven't taught you…'\Forcing a smile that made it seem like he was saying it was alright, and making a cheering gesture: 'It's okay. Don't underestimate my friend; one of them is a beta tester! So there's absolutely no need to worry about us. Maybe this was just a joke, or perhaps it won't be long before people from the outside world can rescue us. Alright, you should head to the next village quickly!'\After a long silence, Qian finally uttered the painful choice: 'I see… then… let's part ways here for now! If you need anything, don't push yourself—just send me a message!'\Lowering his head, he turned around and walked with heavy steps toward the east. Not far along, he heard Xia's voice calling him back.\Looking back at the figure behind him, he saw Xia smiling and saying: 'Qian… don't forget! You said next time you'll take me with you, right?'\A wave of bitterness surged up; Qian forced a smile and replied in a hoarse voice he could no longer control: 'Alright! If you still need me then…'\Suppressing the complex emotions in his heart, shouldering the burden, Qian gave his all and ran eastward, toward the endless battles he would have to face in the future.

(PS: It's been a long time… alright! I'm the least qualified to say this. After not coming back for 2 months, the forum seems to have more lurkers, and there are also newcomers. Recruiting 2 characters! Male, the name is the most troublesome part, requirement is Western-style, surname optional.)